Ronaldo out of Cup final, Ancelotti confirms

World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed.

The Portuguese star has missed Real's last three games due to the problem and Ancelotti said he didn't want to risk him with their Champions League semi-final, first leg against Bayern Munich just a week away.

'Cristiano is not available because we don't want to take risks and we have other very important games to come this season,' he said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

However, Madrid have lost only once in 10 games without Ronaldo so far this season and Ancelotti believes the likes of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Angel di Maria can compensate for the loss of the former Manchester United man.

'We have many players out, not just Cristiano, but we have a lot of confidence in this team and the team has always responded well to missing players. I am sure it will be the same tomorrow.

'We are going to lose a player with an incredible quality, but his absence as been provided motivation for the team to run more and play more as a team.'

Barcelona have emerged victorious in both meetings between the sides so far this season, including a remarkable game at the Santiago Bernabeu just under a month ago which ended 4-3 to the Catalans.

However, Barca have endured a tough week as they were dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid before losing significant ground in the title race with a shock 1-0 defeat Granada at the weekend.

- 'Courage and personality' -

And Ancelotti believes his side must be brave and challenge Barca's authority in possession if they are to win the Cup for a 19th time.

'It is a final and we are not planning to try and stop them. We want to play with our quality, our identity. We have tried to do that all season and that is the only way we can win the game tomorrow.

'I think Barcelona are a team that continues to attack well, they had a lot of control of the ball in recent games and it is clear that is the strongest part of their game. To stop them doing that we have to have more control of the ball.

'A quality of our team is to control the game with possession and efficient possession. We need courage and personality, which are the two most important qualities for a final.'

Madrid captain Iker Casillas also insisted he wasn't reading too much into Barca's form of late, given their ability to find their best form when it matters most in recent seasons.

'Personally, I don’t place confidence in what Barcelona have done over the last month. This is a completely different game for them and us. In a final anything can happen.'

Madrid are also likely to be missing Brazilian full-back Marcelo as he too recovers from a hamstring strain, but Sergio Ramos overcame a neck injury to train on Tuesday and is expected to take his place in the heart of the defence

Seedorf calls for Balotelli protection

AC Milan boss Clarence Seedorf has called on referees to start protecting Mario Balotelli against malicious opponents.

The Italy forward's career has been blighted by numerous run-ins with officials and breaches of discipline on and off the field.

But Seedorf is convinced that the former Inter and Manchester City star is a changed man and wants those in charge to put an end to players deliberately targeting his player.

He said: 'Balotelli? He has passed every test for me. I also say that he has changed his attitude and referees need to stop all the fouls that he receives.'

The 38-year-old was speaking after his side's 1-0 win over Catania on Sunday, which saw the Rossoneri move into the top half of the table.

Balotelli has been a key man under Seedorf since he took over from Massimiliano Allegri in January and has 18 goals to his name so far this season.

Military spending on the rise, except in the West

In 2013, worldwide military expenditures dropped by 1.9 percent. The drop was due mainly to defense budget cuts in the United States resulting from its withdrawal from Iraq. Had these cuts not been made, military expenditure would even have risen worldwide since most countries raised their military budgets, according to a new report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI's annual report summarizes public information on military expenditures, including those for arms as well as to support troops, personnel and administration costs, research, maintenance and construction projects. Military spending worldwide currently amounts to $1.75 billion. The United States alone is responsible for more than one third of all military spending.

Despite cuts, NATO still strong

But it's not just the United States that has cut on its defense budget. With the exceptions of Germany and Poland, NATO states in western Europe have seen military spending drop over the past few years as a result of the economic crisis.

Despite the cuts, NATO continues to be the world's biggest purchaser of weapons. 'If one adds up all NATO expenses, its share of worldwide military expenditure still amounts to two thirds of overall expenditure,' said Michael Brzoska, head of the Hamburg-based Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH), which also advises Germany's Foreign Ministry on security issues and arms control.

Russian catch-up

The imbalance, Brzoska said, could explain Russia's military plans: For the first time in 15 years, Brzoska said, Russia's military expenses as measured against GDP is higher than that of the United States.

'That clearly shows that Russia is making a particular effort to enhance its military strength once again,' he said, adding that Russia lags behind other countries as its arms industry was in shambles in the 1990s.

Still, Brzoska pointed out that Russia continues to be the world's second biggest nuclear power, and that its troops were among the world's biggest, though the standard of their weapons could leave some thinking Russia is a mid-level military power. 'That, of course, does not rule out military supremacy when it comes to confronting the Baltic States, Georgia or Ukraine,' Brzoska said.

In terms of overall ratings, Russia is the world's third biggest military player. The SIPRI has placed China second - even if, due to a lack of reliable data, this evaluation is based on guesswork.

China as Asia's Superpower

Spending data from China are anything but transparent, said Samuel Perlo-Freeman, who led the SIPRI study. That makes it difficult to know how the Chinese military budget was spent. SIPRI found an increase in military spending of 7.4 percent with more money being spent on improving troops' housing. 'But more money is also being spent for arms and training,' Perlo-Freeman adds.

The increase of military spending in both China and Russia should be seen within the context of US supremacy following the end of the Cold War. 'China and Russia were not at all happy about the unipolar world where the United States could essentially dictate what happens - by military force if necessary,' Perlo-Freeman said.

Lack of transparency in Middle East

In 2013, military spending has continued to rise in the Middle East, a trend that's been going on for years not only resulting from the tense political situation, but also the high revenues from the sale of oil. Saudi Arabia has the world's fourth largest military spending budget. In Perlo-Freeman's view that's not only due to strategic concerns: 'The military budget is a way of channeling oil revenues into the private bank accounts of leaders - that is one factor that makes military spending very attractive.'

On the whole, data on military spending in the Middle East tend to be quite opaque, the SIPRI expert said. There were no data available for Iran, Qatar, Syria, Yemen or the United Arab Emirates in 2013.

Growing markets in Africa, Central America

Compared to 2012, Africa has raised military expenditure by 8.3 percent in 2013. In sub-Saharan Africa, Angola surpassed South Africa in terms of military spending. In North Africa, Algeria continues to spend a part of its oil and gas revenues for military purposes - more than $10 billion in 2013, which is more than any African country has ever spent on the military.

The arms race is also speeding up in Central America - particularly in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras, which, according to SIPRI, is largely due to the ongoing war against drug syndicates. In Latin America as a whole, military spending has, however, risen only slightly.

A Mirror of society

In terms of absolute numbers, military spending is on the rise worldwide. However, Perlo-Freeman said, as countries' economies grow the percentage of their gross social product spent on the military declines.

'As a country grows and as people get better off, you expect the solider to get better off as well,' he said.

Quite often, the military can be seen as a mirror of political circumstances in a country, added Brzoska: 'It tends to be neither better nor worse off than other elites in a given country.'

Brzoska said he expects current trends will continue over the next few years. 'In many other spheres, we are witnessing a lot of changes on the international scene,' he said, adding that the overall significance of the West on huge countries like China, Russia and India is diminishing.

'Considering the rapid population growth in these countries,' he said, 'it should not come as a surprise that they are trying to make up for military shortcomings in the past

Germany’s RWE first EU company to deliver gas to Ukraine

German power supplying giant RWE announced on Tuesday that it had begun delivering gas to Ukraine. The Essen-based company said the deliveries fell under a basic agreement signed with Kyiv in 2012.

RWE added the framework contract with the state-owned Naftogaz firm allowed it to deliver up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Ukraine annually.

The German company's RWE Supply and trading subsidiary said the gas was being pumped into Ukraine, using pipelines in neighboring Poland.

Diversification in progress

The utility firm said current gas deliveries came from the company's overall portfolio. According to figures released in 2012, 31 percent of RWE's gas comes from Russia, 24 percent from Norway and 21 percent from the Netherlands, with the rest originating from smaller partners.

Following a string of price hikes for Russian gas to Ukraine and Gazprom deliveries having been made dependent on advance payments, Kyiv had said it was aiming to look for supplies from Germany and France.

RWE did not immediately specify the price Ukraine would have to pay for its gas, but said it reflected European wholesale cost structures and transport fees.

Google buys drone manufacturer Titan Aerospace

Google announced on Monday that it had acquired Titan Aerospace, placing it in competition with Facebook to expand global Internet access using drone technology.

Google did not say how much the acquisition cost.

Titan Aerospace, based in the US state of New Mexico, is developing solar-powered drones that can run for five years at an altitude of 19,812 meters (65,000 feet). The drones look like gliders and have a wingspan of 50 meters (164 feet). The technology is expected to be ready for commercial operations by 2015.

'It's still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring Internet access to millions of people and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation,' a Google spokesman said in a press release.

Facebook was also reportedly interested in acquiring Titan, but opted instead to buy Ascenta, a British company that specializes in solar-powered drones. The acquisition cost $20 million (14 million euros).

Google is also developing Project Loon, which aims to transmit the Internet to remote locations via large, high-altitude balloons. Titan Aerospace will also work on Project Loon, according to Google.

Iran has no replacement pick for UN envoy denied visa by United States

On Saturday, a day after the United States denied Hamid Aboutalebi a visa, Iran's deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said the country would pursue the issue 'through legal mechanisms at the UN.' Iranian officials had previously called the US objection to Aboutalebi unacceptable.

'We are not considering an alternative pick,' Araqchi told the Mehr news agency Saturday.

Aboutalebi, a veteran diplomat, is believed to have taken part in what is known in the US as the Iran hostage crisis - when Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days from November 1979 to January 1981. Iranian officials say Aboutalebi served as a translator and negotiator during the hostage situation. They also say that he had previously received a US visa and that he has served at the Iranian missions in Australia, Belgium and Italy.

As the host country, the US is generally obligated to grant entry to envoys and heads of state attending the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City (pictured). However, Washington holds the legal right to bar entry to diplomats under special circumstances such as involvement in terrorist activities.

'We will not'

On Friday, White House spokesperson Jay Carney told reporters that the decision was final.

'We have informed the United Nations and Iran that we will not issue a visa,' Carney said at a news conference.

The row presents a challenge to US President Barack Obama's push for a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran after decades of mistrust. However, Carney said that he did not expect the spat to negatively influence talks aimed at curbing Iran\'s nuclear activities. Those talks have made significant progress since they began late last year, but have yet to arrive at a deal.

It remains to be seen if Iran holds a similar view of the diplomatic spat, given the foreign minister's response to the situation earlier in the week - before the US had officially denied Aboutalebi's visa.

'We announced to the Americans one of our most rational and experienced diplomats as our United Nations envoy,' Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif told Iranian media during a visit to Vienna on Tuesday. 'The government of the United States is well aware that this kind of behavior is by no means acceptable for us.'

Sardar Mehtab to take oath as KP governor today

PESHAWAR: Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former chief minister Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan would take oath as the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa today.Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel will administer the oath to the new governor at the palatial Governor s House at 5pm. Sardar Mehtab has replaced Engineer Shaukatullah, who held the coveted post for almost 14 months.

A large number of PML-N activists are expected to attend the ceremony as they are very excited about the appointment of their party leader as KP governor.Sardar Mehtab would be the 24th governor after restoration of the provincial status of the province in July 1971 as it was dissolved on 14 October 1955 and replaced by the single province unit of West Pakistan.

Earlier, seven governors served the province from August 15 to October 14, 1955.

Sardar Mehtab will be the PML-N nominee in the Governor s House after Miangul Aurangzeb who was replaced in 1999 following the dismissal of the Nawaz Sharif government by Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.Sardar Mehtab was also removed as chief minister at the time. Belonging to Abbottabad district, Sardar Mehtab is a seasoned politician and a loyalist of Nawaz Sharif.

He is a law graduate and remained the chief minister from 1997 to October 12, 1999. He also served as provincial and federal minister and senator. He returned to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in the 2013 general election and became the opposition leader. He resigned as member of the provincial assembly after his nomination as governor.